


The Light Eater

by vistreis



Category: Nowhere Boys (TV)
Genre: Andy/Ellen established relationship, Demon Fun, M/M, Movie doesn't exist, Mutual Pining, Road Trips, Slight AU probably, Teen Angst, fire!Phoebe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-04 16:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14024322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vistreis/pseuds/vistreis
Summary: "You're telling me that Felix went on a road trip with a deranged witch and you're fine with this?"Felix loses his powers and enlists Alice's help, leading the boys on a frantic chase across the east coast.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to send the boys on one last adventure before they have to grow up. This is set some time between Season 2 and Season 3. Starts off slow but it will pick up, I promise!

It was the summer when Sam got his driver's license and his brother Pete's car, and the summer when Andy and Ellen celebrated their one year anniversary of going out (Felix had bailed on movie night). The summer roughly six months after Phoebe and Alice appeared out of nowhere and ambitiously reopened both the taco van and the magic shop, and the summer when, a few days after New Year's Eve, after having dozed off on his couch on a balmy evening, Felix was woken up by a knock on his window.

"What," he mumbled to himself, half-sat up, and squinted until he could make out Jake's silhouette lurking in the shadows. He pushed himself off the couch and unlatched his door to let the boy in.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered, his voice rough with sleep. "Sneak out again?"

Jake pushed past him and shrugged.

"My mum's away for the weekend with Brian- with Bates. I'm bored."

Felix couldn't suppress a grin. "He's growing on you, isn't he?"

"Anyway, I thought you could help me work on my Book of Shadows," Jake said sullenly, ignoring the jab. Felix just beamed at him.

The two spent barely half an hour huddled over Jake's journal by candlelight until Jake got visibly jittery, the floor already vibrating slightly under his tapping feet.

 "You okay, mate?" Felix asked with a pointed look, but Jake avoided his eyes.

"It's so nice outside, it feels like a waste being cooped up in here," he answered instead. "Wanna go down to the lake?"

"Fine, but _quiet_ ," Felix warned, as Jake was already trampling out the door with zero grace.

The trek to the lake was a short one, and despite the perfect warm summer night it wasn't very pleasant. Felix was out of breath in five minutes, struggling to keep up with Jake's rather athletic pace. The other boy only calmed down after they settled down on the cold ground by the water, and Felix watched with his chin on his knees as the pebbles Jake threw at the water skipped on the surface of the pond perfectly. He felt something familiar move in his chest, but by now he knew how to quiet it down, even when Jake finally flashed him a bright smile.

"Come on, I'll teach you," he offered, and in a second he was kneeling behind Felix, fingers around Felix's wrist, adjusting his aim and gently pulling his arm back for the throw. The first three stones splashed miserably where they landed, but the next one, and the next one, skipped gracefully along the water. They both laughed, exhilarated, as if this was the best thing to happen to them in a long time. The next stone Jake fitted into Felix's palm felt especially smooth and cold, so much that the boy had to do a double take.  
"Wow," he whispered, turning the perfectly round and white pebble between his fingers. Jake hooked his chin over Felix's shoulder to take a better look.

"Wow," he whispered as well. "Maybe you should keep that."

"I'm gonna," Felix agreed, and slipped the stone into his pocket.

And, an hour or so later, as Jake sat leaning against a tree (ignorant of the spiral pattern carved into the bark up overhead) and Felix sat between his legs, his back against Jake's chest, Felix felt that he finally understood the other boy. Because, despite everything, despite things being seemingly quiet and normal for more than a year now, this was the first time he felt perfectly, unconditionally safe, with Jake's hand resting gently on his knee, as if this were the most normal thing in the world, and Felix's fireball burning joyfully above their feet.

"Can I tell you something that I haven't told anyone?" Jake asked, breaking a ten minute streak of silence, and Felix felt something warm pooling in his chest. He nodded and let his head fall back onto Jake's shoulder until he could feel the other boy's cheek against his hair.

"I, uh," Jake started, seemingly at loss, and Felix could swear he felt the earth shift underneath them just a tad. "I met this girl from the track team. She kinda reminds me of Saskia."

The warmth around Felix's heart instantly dissipated, and his chest filled up with something ugly instead.

"In what way?" he asked, not being able to control himself. "Is she a golem too?"

Jake made a vague annoyed noise. "Ugh, funny. In the way she... moves and acts and looks I guess. I'll bring her to the bonfire tomorrow. Maybe you will like her."

_Highly doubt that_ , Felix thought to himself, and the fireball fizzled out in a puff of smoke. He pushed himself off the ground forcefully, eager to put some distance between himself and the other boy.

"I'm sure I will," he said, not even trying to hide his nastiness, "until she turns out to be a demon."

Jake just looked at him blankly, unsure whether this was all a joke or not.

"You know what," Felix continued, "I should get back home before I get in trouble." And without saying goodbye, he shot off towards the path to Bremin.

*******

Felix decided to be fashionably late from the bonfire, out of a childish spite, wanting his arrival to be noticed - by one person in particular. And he failed just by a bit - almost everyone was there by the time he arrived: Sam, Andy and Ellen, Viv and Mia, but not Jake, and not the new girl. They were sprawling lazily on the grass, their shadows long in the slowly descending sun, their laughter echoing off the nearby trees.

"Dude, come on, we've been waiting for you," Sam shouted at him from a distance, waving him over. "Do the honors?"

An armful of twigs, some cardboard boxes and crates from the farmers' market had already been stacked into the fire pit, waiting for a spark. Felix stepped close to the stone circle and extended his hand, flexing his forearm and turning his palm outwards. He felt the flicker of heat in his mind, for a flash, and then it ran through his body just as quickly until it was suddenly there, hovering above his palm. He adjusted his aim a little more, for dramatic effect, closed his eyes and gave the fireball a little push with his mind. The tinder in the firepit erupted in a flash, sparks shooting towards the darkening sky, and Felix smiled as his friends cheered. This one party trick would never get old.

As he let his fireball go, a spell of dizziness washed over Felix, his vision darkening around the edges, but he shrugged it off. He hadn't slept at all the night before, as his encounter with Jake had left him too sulky and upset to even try. He rubbed his eyes a little - it helped - and he flopped down onto the grass between Andy and Sam. Reaching over Andy, Ellen handed him a drink, and Felix thanked her with a grin. "Where's J-" he started, but then he heard it, the sound of gravel crackling under bicycle wheels. He turned to see Jake arriving on his brand new bike - a gift from Bates - and someone else - it must be her - on another one right after. They parked their bikes by a tree, took off their helmets and came closer.

And as he saw her, Felix understood what Jake meant about being reminded of Saskia - she was blonde and strong and aloof and earthy, just like Saskia had been, and Felix started to suspect that Jake only ever liked himself in other people. He suddenly felt a bad taste in his mouth.

"Guys, uh," Jake started awkwardly, pointing in the general direction of the girl, "this is Adrienne. Adrienne, this is Andy, Ellen, Mia, Viv, Sam and uh, Felix." Everyone waved at her with a slightly awkward smile, except Felix who was too busy trying to control his facial expression and maybe prevent sparks flying off his fingertips. It should have helped, but it didn't, that the two settled down almost right across him, only half obscured by the flames, so that he could not see her, but he could still make strained eye contact with Jake.

Felix was surprisingly good at putting on a smile - after a lifetime of taking bullying in stride, after years of being blamed for Oscar's accident, after propelling himself and his friends nearly into non-existence, pretending to have fun at a party was literally nothing. And yet, as the sky darkened and stars popped up one by one, his patience was wearing thin, and all he wanted was to climb into his bed and fall into a dreamless sleep. So when, out of the corner of his eye he saw Jake making the umistakeable move of leaning in for a kiss, Felix decided he needed a break.

He scrambled off the ground, slipped out a weathered pack of cigarettes from his way too tight pocket, pulled one out and slotted it between his lips as he retreated towards the trees that marked the way into town. He leaned back against a tree and fumbled with his lighter, flicking it again and again but in vain. There was a spark, but no flame. He dropped it on the ground with an annoyed sigh and tried a different approach. He angled his palm towards the end of his cigarette, focused and inhaled. The paper lit on fire instantly, but the ball of fire didn't persist as usual; it fizzled out with a sigh, and suddenly Felix was so overwhelmed with fatigue that he had to sink down on the ground.

As he sat there, blowing out the smoke lazily and looking at the smoke of the bonfire billowing up towards the stars, he barely saw Ellen approach him and sit down next to him.

"Did I scare you?" she asked, and Felix laughed softly. In the past year Ellen quieted down a lot. Maybe it was joining the netball team, maybe it was taking 3rd place in the science fair (after Andy and Viv, of course), but she was a lot less inclined to be bitter and dismissive towards people. Sometimes she even wore colours. And Felix, too, seemed to mirror this transformation - even though his hair was still heavily dyed, he swapped the uncomfortable messenger bag for a sleeker backpack (not the Bremin High standard issue, still), and his nails were healthy pink. But some things - like their friendship - would never change.

"Are you okay?" Ellen asked and nudged Felix with her knee.

"Listen, Ellen," Felix started, handing her the cigarette so she could take a drag. "If I go home now, can you tell the others that I wasn't feeling well?"

Ellen shot him a suspicious look. "Is this about Jake?"

Feeling incredibly exposed all of a sudden, Felix could do nothing but laugh uncomfortably. "Jake, why would it- No, Ellen, I'm actually coming down with something." It wasn't a lie, not completely. He was feeling lousy, weak, drained. It was a familiar feeling, but he couldn't quite place it - maybe a really bad bout of flu, somewhere along the way.

"Okay, you go home, I'll tell them," Ellen said, still not sounding convinced. She handed him back the cigarette and stood up. "Enjoy your man-flu."

"Cheers," Felix replied to Ellen's retreating back, but she turned around one more time.

"Oh, and Felix. I know it's not your thing, but if you need to talk about something, I'm still here, okay."

It wasn't a question, but Felix nodded in answer anyway. And as she took her place next to Andy, Felix stood up carefully, balancing himself on the trunk of the tree for a moment, and then tentatively started walking home.


	2. Chapter 2

As much as he wanted to just climb into bed and pass out, Felix decided to do something else first. Walking past his own bedroom he entered through the front door, padded down the hall and waited a moment before he quietly knocked on Oscar's door. He heard a muffled "come in" from inside, so he opened the door a crack and poked his head through. Oscar was lying on his bed, leafing through a comic by the light of his bedside lamp.

"Hey, Oskie," Felix half-whispered, mustering up a smile. Oscar looked up at him, obviously in a good mood.

"How was the party?"

"Just awful," Felix replied with a laugh. "You made a good call staying at home."

"Oh, no." Oscar closed his comic around his index finger so he could pay full attention to his brother. "What happened?"

Felix dropped his gaze to the floor and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Have you ever liked someone you weren't supposed to like, Oskie?"

"I don't think I've ever liked anyone. Wait, is this about-"

"No one. It's about no one in particular. Look, I'm gonna go to bed now, I'm not feeling too well. Anything on the... psychic front?" he asked, waving his hands around his head.

"Nothing, Felix, don't worry. It's been pretty quiet lately, i think things are actually back to-"

"Don't say normal. Anyway, I'm going now. Sweet dreams, Oskie."

Felix closed the door quietly behind him, snuck out the house and into his own room, kicked his shoes off and fell face first into bed, right into a sprawling, never-ending fever dream.

***

Jake was growing anxious. He saw Felix get up and sneak away, surely for a smoke, and then Ellen went after him too, probably to keep him company, bum a cigarette, and Jake had half the mind to follow them, but then what excuse could he come up with? He doesn't even smoke. He tried to focus on his breathing, tried to keep his foot still, tried to listen to Adrienne's story, but his gaze kept wandering back to Felix's empty place. What's wrong with you, Jake scolded his own brain, but there was no answer.

Ellen came back in a few minutes and Jake craned his neck to see if Felix was following her too, but after fixating the gaping darkness for a while, it became clear to him that the boy was not coming back.

"Ellen!" Jake called out, trying to get the girl's attention, but she was preoccupied with whispering something into Andy's ear. "Ellen," Jake repeated, a little louder this time, but still nothing.

"Be back in a sec," he said to Adrienne quietly and stood up with a sense of purpose. He walked past Viv and Mia and crouched down behind Ellen, startling her.

"Ellen! Where the hell did Felix go?"

"Shit, Jake, you gotta stop sneaking up on people like that. He went home."

"He didn't even say goodbye."

"He's not feeling well. Said to tell you guys he's sorry."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He has the flu or something. Are you done interrogating me?"

Jake let out a laugh, although he didn't really feel satisfied with the conversation. He grabbed two beers from the cooler and went back to find Adrienne, promising to himself that he would enjoy the rest of the night despite the constant droning white noise in his brain, _Felix Felix Felix._

But the night was just not the same without their Fire, even the flames in the fire pit seemed to have faded after Felix left. In less than an hour Jake and Adrienne gathered their stuff and started towards their bikes, her quiet, him dejected. With his hand on the handlebars and trying to maneuver his bike from its parking spot, Jake kicked over something small and heard a plasticky clank from under his feet. He bent down to investigate and picked up Felix's discarded lighter. He tried it absentmindedly and a small flame shot up. Jake felt an almost pleasant tug in his chest and pocketed the lighter.

***

Felix woke up in a daze at around ten in the morning, still feeling weak and empty and drained. And all of a sudden he realized when he last felt like this: this was what he felt the moment he lost his powers, when Alice transferred them into Phoebe. Ignoring the potential fire hazard Felix decided to test this theory. He reached his hand out and closed his eyes, waiting for the heat to show up in his mind. Instead, all he got was a blunt ache in his forehead. He opened his eyes and, unsurprisingly, saw no light. He contemplated trying again for a moment but then his exhaustion won, and he knew already he would just not succeed.

He tried to drift back off to sleep, to just give up and catch a break for once, but his flight or fight instinct had already kicked in. He would have to do something about this, but later, just a couple of hours later, he negotiated with himself. He was broken out of his daze when he heard a knock on his glass door. It was his brother, waiting patiently outside. Felix rolled out of bed with a sigh and opened the door to let Oscar wheel himself in.

"Are you feeling any better?" Oscar asked, but Felix dropping down on the couch already was enough of an answer. "Should I let mum know? She can get you some meds," Oscar continued, but Felix shook his head weakly.

"This is not a flu, Oskie. Something happened to me and I don't know what. I think I've lost my powers."

"Oh no, that's... bad. Do you want me to investigate?" Oscar waved his hands around his head, mimicking Felix's gesture from yesterday.

Felix shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to try."

Oscar wheeled himself closer to his brother and reached out to touch his knee. Felix saw his eyes go blue for a flash of a second, and then he felt his consciousness being whipped out of his body. This is where the visions usually happened, but this time Felix was enveloped in complete darkness, although it still felt that there was a world around him, alive and rustling. Felix felt an overwhelming dread, a sense of complete directionlessness. And then it was over just like that, and Oscar's eyes cleared.

"Did you see that?" the younger boy asked, his mouth hanging slightly open in surprise.

"I saw... nothing," Felix replied tentatively.

"Just darkness," Oscar agreed.

Felix threw himself back on the sofa, kicking his feet up on its arm. "Well that was highly unhelpful," he sighed. "But thanks for trying anyway."

"No problem. Are you sure I shouldn't tell mum?"

"No, please don't. I'll be fine, I just need some time to figure out what to do."

"Maybe you should rest a little," Oscar suggested, and turned his wheelchair around to leave the room.

"I'm trying. Thanks again, Oskie."

After his brother was out the door, Felix reached down to the floor to pick up his phone that he just dropped down there the previous night. Miraculously, it wasn't dead yet, but it was overflowing with missed calls and texts. Truth be told, he was feeling kind of touched, the first flicker of positive emotion for a good while, so he decided to act on it and let everyone know he was fine, even if it would involve a lot of lying.

_are you feeling any better? i can bring you some of my mums soup and we can talk_ \- this one was from Ellen, and it was the easiest to answer - _thx ellen but ill be fine i just need a day off. got the soup sorted_

_u ok dude? do u want us to come over,_ Sam had written, and Felix couldn't help cracking a smile. _im fine sam dont worry but pls dont come over, its contagious_

This one was not fully a lie at least - he had no idea what it actually was, and he was, in fact worried, about the others losing their powers too. They must have been fine so far, he thought briefly, they would have told him if something was amiss. But then again, he wasn't telling them either, but that was just because... Felix sighed. He had to do this alone. For once in his life, he didn't want to drag others into his own mess. For once, he wanted to fix something without endangering anyone he cared about, or anyone at all.

Next up was Andy, _You should try oregano oil, my Nai Nai swears by it and I can send you some studies to back her up._ Typical, Felix chuckled, his fingers hovering above his screen for a second. _thanks mate, that's actually helpful, i'll tell my mum to get some_

He wouldn't, of course, but he knew Andy would get some satisfaction out of Felix telling him he was right - it was a rare occurence, but something Felix wanted to work on. And then he got to the last few of his notifications, three missed calls and a text from Jake,

_you didn't even say goodbye last night_

Felix's stomach tightened. Yeah, why would he expect Jake, of all people, to care? He dropped his phone back onto his chest and finally plummeted into that deep, dark, dreamless sleep he'd wanted.

***

The three boys were camped out by the river, their usual spot in a heat like this. Sam was lying on his back, his jeans rolled up and his bare feet just touching the edge of the water. Andy was sitting next to him, lost in a physics book while Jake was forcefully throwing stones at the water, getting a weak satisfaction out of the loud splashes.

"Did he text you guys back?" he asked the other two without looking at them, whoosh, splash, repeat.

Sam, half asleep, just hummed yes, while Andy replied, "yes, he did."

"He didn't text me back," Jake complained, but no one really paid attention to him.

"I'm gonna go see him," he decided a minute later, but Sam piped in,

"He asked us not to go there. Said it's contagious."

"He's right," Andy agreed.

Grasping for straws, Jake slipped something out of his pocket.

"He lost his lighter yesterday, I should return it."

This was met with a howl of laughter from his friends. "You do hear the irony in that, don't you?" Andy asked with a grin.

Jake shrugged, feeling his face flush. He pocketed the lighter and picked up his bicycle helmet. "Might come in handy anyway," he mumbled and took off running towards his bike, Andy's and Sam's laughter trailing after him.

***

Felix was woken up, way into the afternoon, by an insistent tapping on his glass door. His eyes hurt too much to open so he just covered them with the back of his hands and groaned,

"It's open."

As soon as he heard the footsteps, he already knew who it was.

"Hi, Jake."

"Felix," Jake returned the greeting, and Felix cracked an eye open to see him standing a step away with his arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't text me back," Jake said sullenly, completely forgetting about the lighter excuse.

"I think I fell asleep," Felix replied.

Jake stepped closer to him and crouched down next to Felix's head. Felix closed his eyes and in a few seconds he felt Jake's palm on his forehead, and then on his cheek.

"You don't have a fever, I don't think," Jake noted, removing his hand.

"Yeah, tell Andy the oregano oil worked," Felix replied, smiling despite himself. And then he pushed himself up a little, into a half sitting position, and turned to Jake fully. He promised himself he wouldn't bring this up, and yet he suddenly felt he would die if he didn't.

"Listen, Jake, about last night..." he took in a sharp breath before continuing, "I do think something is up with your girlfriend. I think she did this to me."  
Jake stood up, looking completely taken aback. "You think she gave you the flu?"

"I think she... she did something to me that I don't understand yet. Something magic."  
Jake's face darkened.

"Yeah, right. I don't know what your problem is with Adrienne, but it kinda sucks that you won't even give her a chance. Can you at least agree not to confront her about being a demon or something?"

Felix sighed and let his head fall back down onto the pillow.

"Fine, just..."

The rest was unsaid but Jake understood, so he turned to leave. As he was about to step out the door, he suddenly remembered why he had come here in the first place. He fished out the lighter from his pocket, and turned halfway back to Felix.

"Oh, by the way, you lost your lighter last night, I brought it back for you."

"Keep it, it's empty," Felix answered, his voice fading into sleep. Jake flicked the spark wheel and the little flame shot up obediently. Felix, however, was already sleeping soundly, not around to see. Out of sheer confusion, Jake pocketed the lighter and left.


End file.
